1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a movable storage shelf system for use under a flight of stairs, with shelves configured to efficiently utilize the available storage space under the stairs by conforming to the slope of the underside of the stairs.
2. Related Art
Shelving systems have been utilized for many years for more efficient use of space required for storing goods. A standard set of shelves generally consists of a series of horizontal platforms supported by vertical supports. Standard shelving systems work well in locations where ample space exists to access the goods stored on the shelves. However, in locations where accessing the goods is difficult due to obstructions, or in small, cramped locations, standard shelves are less convenient because of the limited ease with which goods can be stored and retrieved.
Ready access to stored goods is an essential element for a practical storage system. Such a system should provide access for unimpeded placement and retrieval of stored materials, and also visual access for quick identification and location of such goods. Without convenient visual access, stored items can be forgotten and essentially lost until removal of other materials generally reveals the otherwise hidden item. Because of this, some locations which would otherwise be ideal for storage are purposefully neglected.
One such category of potential storage space which is generally discounted is the narrow and deep area under a stair case. Such a space is generally enclosed by opposing side walls and an inclined ceiling which comprises the underside of the stair case, or a finished surface. The space is typically enclosed as a closet, with a door opening under the upper-most stairs and the space converging to the rear of the closet under the lower-most stairs. Due to the slope of the underside of the stairwell, the resulting closet appears from the side as a triangle, with the greatest amount of storage space toward the front of the closet and the least amount toward the rear.
Sets of fixed shelves have been built within the closet space under flights of stairs, but the result is often undesirable. Such shelves would stand along one of the side walls, allowing a walkway along the opposing wall to permit access to stored goods. To simply fill the space with shelving materials would be impractical because upper shelves would be very shallow and lower shelves would be too deep where the rear of the shelves conforms to the sloping rear wall. Although the lower shelves would have the most space for storage, that storage space would be essentially unusable, due to the distance from the front to the rear of the shelf, where the shelf terminates against the underside of the bottom tread of the flight of stairs. Such a system of shelves is not desirable because a person retrieving goods from the rear areas of the lower shelves must climb into the shelves in order to reach the rear goods.
Where shelves have been constructed that do not fill the entire width of the closet, leaving room for a person to enter the closet to retrieve goods stored in the rear of the shelves, much of the available storage space under the flight of stairs remains unused, preserved as access space. Accordingly, there has been little purposeful use of the full storage space enclosed by a closet under the stair case structure.